Data signals can be transmitted between a client device and a host device via a bidirectional link, i.e. in both directions over a transmission medium such as a wired link or a wireless link. A data signal can be sent as an electronic signal via a cable or as an optical data signal via an optical link such as one or several fibres. Furthermore, data can be exchanged between a transceiver of a host device and a transceiver of a client device on a wireless link over air by means of electromagnetic waves. When transmitting a signal via a transmission medium such as a wireless or wired link, the signal will be impaired by different external influences such as noise or distortions. Since the distances for example in access networks as well as data rates are increasing, impairments caused by the transmission medium become a limit so that a distortion compensation becomes necessary.
Accordingly some data transmission systems comprise on the receiving side means for performing a distortion compensation of the received data signal. These means perform a post-compensation of impairments caused by the data transmission channel to improve the quality of the received signal. Other data transmission systems perform a pre-distortion of the transmitted signal based on feedback information received from the receiver indicating the quality of the received signal. In such a conventional data transmission system the transmitter can comprise pre-distortion means for pre-distorting the transmitted signal and a separate communication channel has to be provided in the data transmission link between the receiver and the transmitter for sending the feedback information data from the receiver back to the transmitter indicating the quality of the data signal received via other communication channels on the same data transmission medium. The separate communication channel used for sending the feedback information data from the receiver back to the transmitter occupies a data transmission bandwidth of its own so that the data rate of the data signal which is exchanged between the client and host device on the other communication channels of said data transmission medium is diminished.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a system which minimizes the impact of signal impairments caused by a data transmission medium by performing a distortion compensation without diminishing the available bandwidth for data exchange between a client device and a host device.